The Rajkumar thing isn’t going away. in today’s Times of India, authorities have found Veerappan’s diary. Why would a terrorist keep a diary? How would it read? July 31 - kidnap film star, Aug 3 - negotiate funds from Tamil authorities, Aug 4 - put out milk?

BangLinux Ads have started appearing in the paper and we’ve started getting odd phone calls in exchange besides the I-want-to-register ones. Classic one this afternoon began, ’Can you tell me more about this Linux? Where can I get it? I have a friends Internet connection but not one of my own. Does it fit on a floppy disk?’ I honestly thought he would ask for tickets to the conference as well.

Seas of email and brand new afternoon snacks (Kachoudi - mini savoury fried filled doughnut) to overcome while trying to judge which sessions will fit together the best for BangLinux. Incredibly great feeling about the content - will blow last March’s event away, without a doubt.

Am returning home on Dec 20 via Jet Airways to Bombay. Yesterday, two Jet Airways pilots were grounded for bad flying and damaging their planes on landing. Can I change my mind about this?

Paper also notes Rajkumar is still alive on the front cover after an astounding three weeks of freedom. That’s nice. England wins test series against Pakistan for first time in 39 years. That’s even better.

Can’t keep film stars out of Indian papers. With Rajkumar safe but bitten by lots of insects, the rest of Bollywood is appearing in the papers. One such is Hrithik Roshan who got rushed by 2000 fans while filming in Pune yesterday. Imagine the UK tabloids would have headline “Everyone’s at Hrithik” (say it fast) plastered on page 3.

First computers showed up from IBM this morning without CD drives or monitors - so that’s useful. The drives turn up later but with no cables or screws to fix them into the casing. Occupy myself with investigations into custard apples instead - a well-named, great-flavoured fruit.

Got onto the roof of Carlton Towers after dark. Bangalore looks amazing by night as do the aerial shows the local bats are putting on wheeling about catching insects in and around the spotlights illuminating the building.

Morning papers filled with Rajkumar. According to the headlines in the Times of India, he saw ‘a goddess in woman doctor’ and bottom third of front page has slightly less than thrilling headline ‘Thespian has lot of insect bites’. Well he has been in the jungle for 108 days you know.

After giving them written notice yesterday, Ganesh and cronies finally finished the LAN and ISDN so the office mow actually works!! Not that I’m relieved that it’s over of course.....

Celebrated with beers in TGI and gave Dilip rudimentary lessons in WWF appreciation.

If I was in Manchester, I’d think Man Utd had just won the triple and were doing their lap of honour around the streets. Instead it was Rajkumar coming home after his 3 month sojourn in the wilds of Tamil Nadu. A police-accompanied twenty car cavalcade drove him straight into a crowd of roughly 250000 people in the centre of town if local news is to be believed.

Meanwhile in the LAN-challenged world of the office, the modem and phone line still work and Pro Zope has finally been contracted. Sweet relief. Just the other six to go then.

Large wasp nest has started to develop from the building overhang about twenty yards from our office windows. As long as they stay outside.....